Vol 1 Chapter 12 (1/2)

At the edge of the forest, there was a gently sloping hill The sides of the hill were covered with thick grass A gray shadow, standing in the knee-deep grass, lifted both hands in the air A strange voice lifted and was carried away by the wind

Soon a shooting star split the dark night sky Cri larger and larger, the track it had left becaiant fireballs that pelted the hill On the hill, there stood a solitary castle

The light flared Moments later, a loud boom, the sound of an explosion, could be heard As the castle walls crurass around them burst into flames Illuminated by this inferno, the land around Kanon’s royal palace, shi+ning Hill, shi+e

The eht with all the sole a ceremony Mounted on a massive black warhorse, he wore a black cloak over his blood-red armor So attired, he commanded the respect an emperor was due

Beld was over sixty years old At that age,away the days in his throne room But he had the body of aon his own reflection, saw a deical power held in the longsword he wore across his back The longsword once held by a great demon still let forth an evil aura now that the one who had defeated the demon carried it The sword had taken countless lives and destroyed h in ecstasy fro so many new victims

Behind hihts who had co ruin of the castle let out an exultant victory yell But Beld’s expression did not change

Beld had been hiding in the woods at the foot of the hill, waiting for this moment But the battle was far fro castle, the enemy’s numbers were ten times that of Beld’s forces

Stepping out of the shadows and advancing slowly through the long grass, Beld turned back to look at the elite fighters waiting for his signal He slowly lifted his right hand, then brought it down in a flash

With a ruhts, all clad in identical black ared out of the forest and up the hill towards the castle The battle cries they screa of death Beld hi it straight in front of hiht around it The dark aura e froht The air grew heavy under the weight of its evil energy

“Are you heading out yourself, your majesty?”

Suddenly a voice rang out from his side Beld reined in his horse and turned to look at the speaker It was a lone woray robes She looked to be in her ing down her back On her forehead she wore a strange circlet A green geeht in the jewel changed as itit an eerie, unreal look

The woman was known as Karla Even Beld knew little more, only that she was a witch of dreadful power and that she had agreed to help hinard, had warned hinard was not jealously protecting his own status, nor did he know of a concrete threat that she ht pose No, he was merely wary of the power and motives of an unfamiliar witch

The ic that had ripped apart the once-solid ra Hill was hers

Beld showed Karla his sword and let out a great laugh He wielded the longsword easily in one hand

“My sword desires blood Human blood is its favorite meal, you know”

“True But you’re the same, it seems to me They say that swords merely reflect the desires of their wielders”

“Indeed” Beld laughed loudly As the sound ed by the wind, they could hear the noises of the battle “But e for destruction, are they not?”

Beld pointed to the red fla Hill with his sword

“That may be true,” answered Karla in a soft voice “My work here is done I have no other plans in Kanon I indeed to ht as well lie in it”

“You’re a busy one, aren’t you? Take care Things should be fine in Alania”

“Of course You’re al of Lodoss yet”

“I’ forward to it”

Beld turned his horse and gave it a kick to the sides It sped up, galloping like a flash of lightning up the hill towards the burning castle

Once he got going, it never occurred to Beld that he ht not succeed

Thefloated on the air With few pedestrians out and about, it was even quieter than usual

Woodchuck walked unsteadily through the city, avoiding thetheir customs, he’d just run afoul of the local thieves

He earing a light brown shi+rt and pants of the same color underneath a worn set of leather armor He also wore black leather boots The soles wereabout They also had good traction

These clothes and arers and a few coins in his pouch were all he had to his name

“The Guild is too da at the city of Alan for the first tih He’d lived in Alan forhe’d been able to see fro cell and the timeworn face of its elderly occupant But Woodchuck, too, was no longer young

All that, just for one little theft Thinking of that rekindled his anger Twenty-two years earlier, he had broken into a rich ht Woodchuck had had a trial at the royal palace, but in those days the king of Alania, Cadlance at Wood’s face and sentenced hi to his pleas Due to that sentence, Woodchuck had spent what ought to have been the best years of his life rotting in jail

Even after being pardoned and leaving early, Woodchuck’s resent to revelers toast to the new prince and the future of the kingdo the festival had made Wood want to throw up Instead, hethem of the contents of their purses

He’d succeeded, but he realized his skills were not what they used to be Not only had he gotten out of practice between the gray walls of the dungeon, but the passing years had also stolen the reflexes of youth from him

He had reluctantly set out for the thieves’ Guild, asking about officer jobs But in twenty-two years the head of the Guild had changed, and he told Wood that the new price was 10,000 gold pieces Woodchuck bitterly reflected that if he had stayed out of prison this whole time, he probably would have become an officer, perhaps the head of a local division

Wood was angry, but realizing that it was not worth starting a fight with the Guild, he had laughed weakly and left

Perhaps out of pity, the Guild leader had given hile piece of valuable information Unfortunately, it would be hard to do the job on his own

I need a partner Not another thief, but a tough fighter Wood had made up his mind He saw no other way to s first - I need food

Wood entered an inn in search of breakfast On the sign, it said ‘Crystal Forest’

Due to the lingering effects of the previous night’s bender, Parn didn’t feel like eating He’d ed to s only a small piece of bread and a little water With a little fruit juice htly sater seemed to settle his stomach

Eto wasprayers Left to his own devices, heforever

Ghim was the only one who had yet to finish his meal He was on his second loaf of corn bread and his third tankard of ale

Deedlit was doing her level best not to watch Ghim eat She had eaten so at Parn’s miserable face with a bored expression

While sipping a cup of ht’s conversation with the elf girl She had claimed to have left the elven woods out of boredom with the monotonous life she had lead there He’d found her deep frustration with the elves’ lack of action against their people’s slow decline a curious viewpoint for an elf The very almost-heretical views that had set her apart fro humans Embarassed by her outburst, Deedlit had immediately turned to the innkeeper to reserve a room and headed up to the second floor to sleep

As Slayn was pondering her tale, the front door swung open with a clank Slayn glanced in the direction of the door, and his expression changed completely when he saw the person who had entered The man was dressed like a thief If he was a thief he , Slayn watched the newco his eyes off him until he sat down at the counter

“Giveat the counter, his voice carrying across the room

With that, the tension broke Slayn bent over his old texts oncehis hair

“You’re a hed Deedlit

“That’s right Slayn, hoas it at the Acade at last filled his sto a pile of the empty plates

“The Academy was in a pitiful state” With a sad face, Slayn lifted his eyes fro his book, he put both elbows on the table and folded his hands before beginning to talk

Entering the Acadeer in use The grounds were in such disrepair that they were no longer fit for huul, was still living in the building, watching over the place

Master Jagul had told Slayn why the Academy had fallen to ruin It was because of the death of the Acadereatest e known as Wagnard three years earlier

Slayn knew Wagnard by reputation When he had enrolled in the Acadeot top e But he had wanted to push his talents to their absolute limits That aics, drawing on the power of de to the Acadeood causes, and so the study of evil ic was harshly punished

Learning of Wagnard’s forbidden studies, Ralkas had visited a severe punishical taboo on hiic again, Ralkas’ taboo would send waves of crushi+ng agony throughout his body

But a genius such as Wagnard was able to resist even the pain of the taboo Though waves of pain coursed through his body, Wagnard was able to focus his th froainst Ralkas and the rest of the Acadee su for Marmo Once there, he joined forces with Beld, one of the Six Heroes of Lodoss, who had just finished conquering Marnard becae did not co Ralkas’ lifetinard’s evil schemes slowly closed in on the Acade Acadehout Alan The Academy took any number of measures to halt this massacre, but without success

As if to add insult to injury, monks who officiated ceremonies at the Academy were murdered as well, and the library was ransacked Priceless books and ancient relics were stolen, while one-of-a-kind artifacts were burned to cinders

This proud, historic Acadees left one by one, disappearing to the four corners of Lodoss And so the oldest of theresident of the Academy

“What an awful story” Eto said, his white-knuckled fists showing his anger

“It is an awful story” Slayn separated his hands and laid them in his lap “I h to be away froet me”

“Didn’t the king do so about the incidents?” Eto asked Slayn

“What do you think a king could do against such ancient powers? Even hundreds of soldiers would surely have been unable to prevent the Acadenard’s power”

“Are you in any danger now?” asked Deedlit in a weak voice

“I should be fine,” said Slayn with certainty “Wagnard doubtless considers his vengeance coh it is possible he may plot further destruction The Dark Emperor would be at the root of any new plan, and he may even have set the wheels in motion already”

Slayn said it lightly, but upon seizing the ravity of it

“I can’t forgive that Wagnard guy,” said Parn suddenly As everyone stared at hi his chair away, and raised his fist

“I can’t forgive hies fight back? Just running when they have so much power, that’s the depths of cowardice”

“Mages aren’t like you,” said Slayn by way of calic is completely different froes don’t study ht”

“Then what about Wort? The Great Sage of Moss went down into the Deep Labyrinth to fight against the demon, didn’t he?”

Parn was referring to one of the Six Heroes of Lodoss ere spoken of in legends Wort was the ht with the dery face

“Why didn’t the ht back It’s a mystery to me” Parn continued “If it was me…”

“If it was ht?” The voice caht hand reached for the hilt of his sword, and he settled into a fighting stance

“Who’re you?!?” yelled Parn

“Oh, sorry I surprised you” Thehis hands in the air in front of hi at the counter So

Woodchuck had only listened to Parn out of habit Thieves listened to everyone’s talk, trying to get a cut of any scaht be value in any gossip In any case, it wasn’t as though he’d had to work at eavesdropping on Parn - his voice was so loud it was hard not to hear

“It’s just, listening to you, I thought that nard If that’s the case, I know a place where your anger could find its mark”

A polite smile plastered across his face, Wood looked Parn up and down The surprise disappeared froued expression

“It’s risky, listening to thieves’ tales” Slayn’s voice was unusually sharp

“I would think you too would welco that this was the mo his insincere smile slip for one instant “Rumor has it that the treasures stolen froht it not be possible to pick up the pieces and reopen the Academy? You could occupy an important post there, once it’s restored”

Though he’d advised Parn not to listen, even Slayn was starting to be interested in the thief’s information He kneas i the lost books and relics ul would surely welcome them If, that is, the thief’s story was true

“Ô holy ear that knows truth,” Slayn chanted words in the ancient tongue under his breath He felt the ic enter his body and slowly concentrate itself in his ears The spell had worked Even if the thief lied, Slayn would recognize his lies for what they were

“Why don’t you tell us all the details,” Slayn turned to Woodchuck again He pointed to an e Wood to sit

“Well, it see in the chair with a big grin Looks like my luck hasn’t run out after all

“Talk is fine But please don’t just listen and take your leave I want more froful glance, Woodchuck noticed Elves and dwarves are always fighting, but they ood team

“Is that the price for your inforhts in a just cause”

“Of course,I propose will sully your reputation”

He’s not lying The words ca about Parn’s reputation

Feeling that he was safe around such a man, Woodchuck made up his mind to tell them the whole story It’s not like I have any other way to make money

The thief was called Woodchuck It would see nickname

Parn and the others hada bit of food and drink, which they spread out on the s it The rooe, but with six occupants it still felt a bit cramped

“Three days’ travel to the east, in the woods, there’s an old house The owner kicked the bucket soht to be abandoned But a few years back, a pretty shi+fty lot ht around the time the Academy’s treasures were stolen” Wood proudly laid out the facts and savored a sip of wine “Whether you believe me or not is your business But those bastards aren’t Guild thieves If they’re stealing things behind the Guild’s back, it’ll put a black mark on the Guild’s reputation So a Guildinteresting It see were a dark elf and an ogre And souy had the eraved on his armor”

“Why would soroaned Eto, “come to Alania?”

Even in Lodoss, Marmo was famous as a land of res, and trolls lived there Its emperor, Beld, had once been one of the Six Heroes, but ru not the slightest sliver of mercy

“Do you think they’re plotting so?” Eto asked Slayn

“I don’t know” Slayn spread his hands and shrugged “But if the ruuess”

“You ulp

“It’s just a guess, but maybe…”

Parn uess was the ical one If Marmo had already sent in soldiers, it was possible that they really were planning to take over Alania It was even possible that Wagnard’s destruction of the Acadee, but also in order to prevent thea threat to Marmo

“Ita look” Parn crossed his ar aloud

“Why do we have to put our necks on the line for soed “Wouldn’t it be better to leave it to the king’s soldiers?”

“I’d have a problem with that This is valuable information There’s the Acade any conspiracy… how et this information from the Guild?”

The bit about spending ht Slayn, but he kept quiet about it

“Dark elves and ogres? Those are dangerous opponents Especially dark elves, because they use ic”

“Yes, because they’re elves”

Deedlit’s face colored at Ghim’s words “Dark elves are an unsavory lot who sold their souls to demons Don’t compare them to us”

Elves like Deedlit had reasons to hate dark elves The color of their skin had changed to black as proof of their service to the dark God Elven elders taught the children of the cruelty of the dark elves They killed elven men and women without mercy It was even said that dark elves used elves as sacrifices to their dark God

As for ogres, they ate elves as a snack Along with dark elves, they were the elves’ oldest enemies They had spilled each other’s blood many times over the years

In the last fight against the deuard, sowing death and destruction before hiht, but countless elves froiven their lives The h it had happened yesterday

“I’ll show you how different we are froed Deedlit

“Me too,” Parn was telling Slayn while gauging his reaction “I too want to settle this myself I can understand the thief’s perspective And it’s not certain that Alania’s army would believe us even if we told theres shouldn’t even exist”

“That’s true,” interjected Wood

“Oh dear, looks like I have no choice,” said Slayn with a long sigh “Let’s go along with Parn on this matter If there truly are treasures froain And as a human, I can’t just let the dark elves do as they please”

“Ho, I won’t stop you I’ll let my axe taste dark elf blood We dwarves have reason to hate them as well”

Showing off his thick, sturdy arh that shook his beard

Deedlit gave the dwarf a sharp look, but when she realized he was gently teasing her, her expression changed into a sweet smile

“That’s the spirit! It should be short work for you lot I’ll help out too, of course Despite how I look, I’er”

Slayn knew that well Thieves’ daggers were ht or from behind His old friend, who had probably been a better swordser

“We’ll give you half the reward Do we have an agreement?” asked Parn in a solemn tone

“I’h

Slayn thought it a strange laugh It wouldn’t do to underesti up his in preparing for the trip

Though it was too late to strike while the iron was hot, the party set out that afternoon fro the city of Alan

The road to the east was less traveled than the north-south highway To the east, there was only the fishi+ng village of Margus, where the road ended Seeing no one but the occasional cart full of fresh fish, the party walked at a relaxed pace Parn and Deedlit walked in front They were followed by Ghiether In the back trudged Slayn, his eyes alert, watching Woodchuck

It’s gotten really hot Slayn suddenly looked up at the sun, dazzled by its suhtness To shi+eld his eyes, he put up his hood and pulled his head deep inside it

That was the second day, and on the third they crossed a bridge into the woods

“Here we are!” said Wood triu out a s for isn’t far”

“How long do you think it will take us to get there?” asked Parn

“About an hour, I think”

“What an odd place to build a house,” ia

“Well, I didn’t build it,” said Wood with a straight face

“We’ll have to keep our guard up from now on,” came Slayn’s muffled voice from deep inside his hood Since the sun was at its peak, Slayn’s face was completely lost in the shadows

“True,” said Parn, and he chewed on his lip, worry showing on his face “Shall we go into the forest?”

Deedlit agreed happily

The party went along with Parn’s decision and entered the woods They could feel the vitality of the early summer forest, and the smell of the leaves was pleasant Parn was still in front,a path so that Eto and the others could easily follow him

Slayn was irritated to find that the dew on the plants was da on tree branches, too Little rips and tears opened in the fabric,Slayn realize he would need to buy a new robe soon But there probably wasn’t a single store left in all of Alania that still sold the right sort of robe

As they neared the house, the party slowed its pace and was careful not to make too much noise Even so, Parn and Eto’s metal armor clanked as they moved

“My chainmail is made of truesilver, so it doesn’t make a sound,” Ghim told Parn with pride

Deedlit, too, had put purple arlance it looked like metal, but it was actually leather that had been treated to stiffen it The chest piece had been dyed with the seeds of n was scratched into it, and it was edged with red-tinted steel Not then the armor

The house suddenly came into view in front of the party They ducked down into some low bushes and spied on the entryway

The huge ogre guarding the entrance iht the adventurers’ eyes Next to hire’s height, but a sly light shone in his eyes as he diligently kept watch The ogre carried a huge club, while the dark elf held a spear

“Okay, what next?” whispered Parn They needed to keep going in order to find out the truth, but that carried a risk of discovery by the sentinels He turned to Eto as if to say ‘I’ them?”

“We failed the last ti ogre One or two arroon’t stop theoblins in Zaxon

“Then what do we do?” Tired of hiding, Parn raised a petulant voice

“It would be good if ic would work,” Slayn inserted hihly resistant to ic”

“That’s what they gained by selling their souls to demons,” said Deedlit with disdain She had drawn her rapier and was checking the tiny dagger attached to her shoulder guard A specially er like the three Woodchuck carried, she’d covered it with a paralyzing drug Nor animals, but in this case she had prepared it to increase their chances in battle

Ghim pulled his battleaxe from his back as well, and held it, ready to attack at any moment

“There is one way,” said Slayn without confidence

“Tell us, Slayn,” said Parn by way of encouragement

“Well, ic that acts directly on a person won’t work on the dark elf Therefore, we should use ic to lure our enemies away from their post”

“Illusions, huh?” said Deedlit

“Exactly But auditory illusions only If we can get even one of theer have to fight two of the the others”

“What if both of theo?”

Hearing Parn’s words, Slayn shrugged “In that case we’ll sneak inside”

“Just so” Ghihter, but it showed on his face His beard shook happily

Slayn sent his consciousness towards the other side of the house He began to chant in a low voice and drew a small syan rustling the grass underfoot

“Slayn!” Parn cried out without thinking

But neither the sound of Parn’s voice nor the rustle of the grass carried Instead, fro noise and the sound of a voice calling “Slayn!”

The sound was barely audible to the party’s ears, but to the two sentries standing nearby, it ave a start and uttered a few orders in a strange language to the ogre The ogre readied his club and let out a little howl The dark elf checked his spear and headed in the direction of the sound

“Huh, ic is pretty useful Teachhow useful that trick would be for burglaries

“Now!” Not waiting for Slayn’s signal, Deedlit sprang into action Turning and winking at Parn, she ran towards the house with all the grace of a cat

Stunned, Parn froze for a moment

“Ô kind dryad of the woods Make of that ogrethe ancient language of Slayn’s spells It was only a whisper, but it worked

The ogre had tried to let out a big yell, but when Deedlit’s spell took effect, he stoppedwith a shocked expression His little brain probably hadn`t even registered that he was being affected byDeedlit as a suspicious intruder, she appeared to be a close friend, doubtless someone closer to his heart than the dark elf as always bossing him around

Deedlit ran full tilt at the ogre He was easily twice her size His whole body was covered with rippling muscles, and his red-brown skin was bare save for a loincloth His sharp tusks and crooked nose disgusted Deedlit

“Beurk!” ly, as she ran up to the ogre that was staring at her in shock and aimed the sharp point of her rapier at his heart Her sword sunk deep into his chest, so that the tip came out the other side

The ogre finally realized as going on The elf girl in front of hi that he was dying, the ogre wanted only to eat her

With all her strength, Deedlit pulled her rapier frore fell forward Backing away so as not to be covered in it, Deedlit turned her attention towards the direction the dark elf had gone

“Look out, Deed!” Parn’s voice cut the air

Startled, Deedlit instinctively jure, still lying on his stoht below her

Had she taken that hit square on, Deedlit’s little body would surely have gone flying Her spine ht even have been broken With a shi+ver, the elf reres possessed When she turned to look at hi to stand up